Mesopotamian Sculpture in Colour
edited by Astrid Nunn and Heinrich Piening
We can now be sure that Mesopotamian sculpture of the human form was typically coloured. Our project, which set out to reconstruct the polychromy of Mesopotamian stone statues dating from the fourth to the first millennium BCE, is a part of a slow shift to incorporate more visual evidence in research about colour and perception in the ancient world that has long been dominated by ethno-linguistic studies. Our scientifically grounded reconstructions serve as a prelude to a more comprehensive exploration of the materiality and aesthetics of Mesopotamian sculpture, which open many windows onto historical, cultural, and symbolic issues. In this study, we trace the chronological development of the use of colours and consider why they changed over time. The manner in which colours served as social markers – of gender, ethnicity and class for example – are explored from the material culture and textual perspectives. When used to describe hair, skin, and garments, Sumerian and Akkadian words for colour denote more than just physical properties. They also evoke qualities such as lightness or darkness, dullness or glossiness, and encode specific symbolic values that impinge on many aspects of society. In all cultures, the notion of skin colour is subject to social concepts, prejudices, and ideals, and is thus a matter of convention. Our discovery that the face and body in particular were so vibrantly coloured provides an entirely new and unexpected view of ancient Near Eastern effigies. Through such luminous, radiant and lucid colours, we are now able to recognise the true faces of the statues, and to visualise what was considered beautiful and acceptable to the gods.
- Edited by Astrid Nunn
- Edited by Heinrich Piening
Similar Books
Connecting the Dots: Counting, Writing, and the Beginnings of Civilization
The Secret Lives of Clay Tokens: A Memoir
Exploring Gender Dynamics across the Ancient Near East
Collected Essays of Gender and Methodology in the Ancient Near East (GeMANE) 4 and 5
Volume 7
Ḫattušaš utnē išḫameški
Hittite and Other Ancient Near Eastern Studies Presented to Piotr Taracha on the Occasion of His 65th Birthday
New Research on Old Collections in Southwest Asian Archaeology
Proceedings of the Workshop Held at the British Museum, London, 31 July – 2 August, 2023
Old Aramaic Inscriptions and their Contexts
An Epigraphic, Archaeological, and Historical Synthesis
Volume 63
Pottery Traditions and Material Culture in Second Millennium BC Northern Mesopotamia
Contacts and New Horizons in the Land between the Tigris and the Zagros. Proceedings of a Workshop Held at the 12th ICAANE, University of Bologna, 7 April 2021
Volume 19
Punning in Odd or Elegant Constructions in Jeremiah
The Convergence of Linguistics, Rhetoric, and Textuality in the Hebrew Text of Jeremiah
Shame in the Worlds of the Hebrew Bible and Akkadian Texts
A Linguistic Study and Its Implications
Volume 33
Telling Contexts
Archaeological and Textual Studies in Honor of Elizabeth Bloch-Smith and Mark S. Smith
The Body
Lived, Cultured, Adorned: Essays on Dress and the Body in the Bible and Ancient Near East in Honor of Nili S. Fox
The Discourse of Rites
Shaping and Reshaping the (Counter-)Priestly Rituals Conducted Outside the Tabernacle
The Kingdom of Kizzuwatna: Recent Developments in Research
Proceedings of the Third NINO Postdoctoral Research Fellow Annual Conference, Leiden, 23rd-25th March 2023
Volume 137
Die Entwicklung erdbebensicherer Bautechniken in der Frühen und Mittleren Eisenzeit in Ostanatolien
Volume 11
Die JHWH-Religion und die Vorstellung göttlicher Gesetzgebung
Überschneidungen zwischen der Rechtsentwicklung und der Sphäre der Religion in der Geschichte des antiken Israel und Juda
Kultur – Kontakt – Kultur
Beiträge anlässlich der 66. Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale in Frankfurt/Main und Mainz, 25.–29. Juli 2022
Volume 35
Menschenwürde und Menschenrechte im Altem Orient, Israel und Hellas. Band 1
Human Dignity and Human Rights in the Ancient Near East, Ancient Israel, and Hellas. Volume 1
Volume 311
Ptolemaiou Procheiroi Kanones. Les «Tables Faciles» de Ptolemée. Volume 2a: Tables A3-A13
Édition critique, Transcription
Sprachwissenschaftliche und kulturhistorische Reflexionen
Festschrift zu Ehren von Jörg Klinger
Volume 31
Vom Mädchen zur Frau
Weihgaben als Indikatoren rituellen und kommunikativen Handelns von Frauen in griechischen Kulten
Volume 188
Von der Symmachie zur Arché und zurück
Die Entwicklungsphasen des Ersten Attischen Seebundes (478/7–404 v. Chr.)
